2021 begins with faculty reporting workbooks in use
As the fall 2020 semester came to a close, Finance Service Delivery staff in collaboration with business unit managers (BUMs) and cost center managers (CCMs) delivered a new financial reporting solution in the form of customized workbooks to all faculty and principal investigators (PIs) who have an active grant, incentive account and/or faculty startup account. Faculty and PIs were contacted by a Finance Specialist in November with news that their workbook was available for access in Workday.
Previously, Workday “worksheets” and “workbooks” that were used to import live reporting data could not be utilized with the type of financial reports used by Iowa State. In spring 2020, Workday delivered an update to make those items compatible, opening the door for a workbook solution with more condensed, user-friendly financial reports.
In planning and designing the reporting workbook solution, the project team met with the Faculty Senate Executive Board, Faculty Senate Research and Planning Committee, Operations and Finance Colleagues (OFC), Academic Fiscal Officers Council (AFOC) and others along with 25 faculty members across seven colleges. With the feedback received, the team refined the workbook template.
Following feedback, extensive collaboration between Finance Service Delivery, BUMs and CCMs led to a high-quality deliverable designed to meet individual faculty needs. The final workbook contains several tabs, consisting of condensed financial reports refreshed monthly with live data that faculty and PIs have called 'very intuitive' and 'some of the most helpful reports received from any system.'
The project team had also originally planned for in-person meetings between Finance Specialists and faculty members to review each customized workbook, but changes were made in the interest of health and safety as a result of COVID-19. PI and faculty members interested in meeting individually for a walk-through of the workbook are encouraged to contact their Finance Specialist at finance_delivery@iastate.edu. Read more here…
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The WorkCyte website got a refresh in December.
Check out the new site now!
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Campus-wide survey to provide opportunity for feedback
University Human Resources (UHR), the Division of Operations and Finance, and Information Technology Services have collectively delivered a survey to faculty, P&S staff and merit staff, seeking feedback regarding Workday and HR/Finance Delivery continuous improvement.
Individual responses will remain confidential, with reports and analysis conducted by the Office of Institutional Research (IR). Survey results will be incorporated into the work plans of the three units mentioned above. Questions about the survey may be directed to IR Executive Director Karen Zunkel or Associate Director Amanda DeGraff.
W-2s available in Workday this month
Keep a lookout for this month’s W-2 announcement on the Workday homepage. When your W-2 is available, access it from your desktop or laptop by clicking the "Pay" worklet on your Workday homepage. Then in the "View" column, select "My Tax Documents." Be sure to allow pop-ups when accessing your W-2, as pop-up blockers will prevent the document from opening.
You will have access to your electronic W-2 document in Workday even if you are also receiving a paper copy. Please see the Accessing Your W-2 in Workday knowledge article for further support. An additional knowledge article is available that provides information about accessing your W-2 on your phone or tablet. For help installing Workday mobile app, view detailed instructions for iPhone and Android users available on the ISU Service Portal.
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Student employment updates for spring 2021 semester
As a reminder, student employees must be registered for winter term or spring semester courses in order to be hired or continue working as a student employee. Student workers (including work study eligible employees) will be allowed to work up to 40 hours per week through January 24, 2021. After that date, all student employees will be restricted to 20 hours per week through the end of the spring semester.
When hiring a new, first-time student employee, please remind them to complete onboarding tasks within their Workday inbox, including the Form I-9 process, which must be completed on or before the first day of work. In order for the university to be in compliance with employment regulations, it is critical that they complete this Form I-9 process.
Student employees who do not complete the Form I-9 on time will be separated. For more information about recent procedural changes to the I-9 process, please consult the Inside Iowa State article published January 7.
For mileage reimbursement, new rates take effect
The IRS has announced a new standard mileage rate for calendar year 2021 effective January 1, 2021. Iowa State University has adjusted its mileage rates to coincide with the default IRS standard rate.
As a result, Iowa State’s default mileage rate has decreased from $0.2875 to $0.28 per mile, and the higher mileage rate (IRS standard) has decreased from $0.575 to $0.56. A traveler can qualify for reimbursement at the higher rate of $0.56 if meeting certain criteria such as the round trip is less than 100 miles, the traveler is permanently based off-campus or other stipulations.
For information on which rate can be claimed, please refer to Iowa State University’s Controller’s FAQ – Mileage.
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